


Not My Monkeys, Not my Circus

by Some1sprincess



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abused Stiles Stilinski, Allison Argent is an archer, Always Female Stiles Stilinski, Boyd is a strongman, Dead Sheriff Stilinski, Derek Hale Protects Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski are Soulmates, Erica is a contortionist, F/M, Girl!Stiles, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Its A Circus, Not my monkeys, Past Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Scott is her target, So is Derek Cora and Laura, Stiles Stilinski Has Low Self-Esteem, Stiles Stilinski Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Stiles is an Aerialist, Suicidal Stiles Stilinski, Suicide Attempt, Talia is the ring master, and scars, but he is good at protecting, not my circus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-18 15:13:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17583230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Some1sprincess/pseuds/Some1sprincess
Summary: When Stiles father dies shes left to fend for herself which only leads her to the infamous Hale Family Circus





	1. Here's to waking up on a tightrope

**Author's Note:**

> So I know that I was supposed to post something last week and I had this other story where Derek and Stiles are in college all written out and checked but I just wasn't feeling its lay out so I did this instead but it means that its a little late. Please be advised that there are mentions of abuse, self harm and suicide please read carefully.

When Stiles dad died she went into a total meltdown, an out of body and mind experience and she ran, ran away from what had been home for almost her entire life. She couldn't stay there without her father so after they held the funeral for him and everyone was sleeping off their hangovers she left, she didn't know where she would go or what she would do but she knew she had to leave. It was days before she could get any food so she was in and out of consciousness but her body kept moving, kept walking like it knew her destination better than she did. That's how she ended up coming too on a tightrope that was at least 30 feet in the air. There was a curly haired boy on the platform just 10 feet in front of her, his lips were moving but Stiles wasn't really hearing what he was saying. His eyes were pleaded with her and he was waving his hands towards himself to get her to come to him, she looked down to see that a crowd had gathered below, not a big one, maybe the performers that worked for whatever company she was currently standing in. It wasn't like she had known how she had gotten there and when she looked back at the boy he had the same worried face as the ones down below, the ones that thought she was going to fall. Not wanting to cause anymore trouble for herself then she was already in, she slowly moved towards the curly haired boy. She wasn't going to fall, she had spent most of her life on a tightrope making sure that she didn't fall. As she reached the boy, when she was within arms reach, he grabbed both her wrists and pulled her to him, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other hand holding onto the railing to keep them stable. Stiles didn't know ig he clung do hard to the railing because he didn't like heights or because he was relieved Stiles hadn't fallen to her death.

His soft, concerned brown eyes searched her face as he held her there and she realized that he was looking for an answer to a question that he had asked. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind the best she could and realized that there was a lot more going on around her that she hadn't been hearing. There were yells from the ground asking if she was okay, people talking to each other asking if she was crazy or just stupid, asking who she was and what she was doing, if she was trying to kill herself or get attention. “Are you okay?” The man's voice cut through it all and she looked up at him, looking past him but never in the eye. Giving a small nod as a response seemed to be enough for him to relax his shoulders and exhale a breath he had been holding “do you think you can climb down on your own?” Stiles didn't see why not since she had apparently climbed up there on her own, so again she gave him a slight nod and he turned them both so that she could go down the ladder first, a dark skinned man waiting at the bottom for her she assumed in case she lost her balance and fell. Seeing as how it wasn't her first time climbing down a ladder either, when she got to the bottom the group that had been watching now all gathered around her and the curly headed boy that was now standing behind her. It was too much though there was too many of them crowding around all trying to see and know what was going on and it was making Stiles skittish looked for a way away from them all, she didn't know why he did it and honestly she didn't really care but the dark skinned man that had been at the bottom of the ladder to catch her came to stand between her and the crowd since she couldn't exactly move backwards.

A dark haired woman with soft brown eyes made her way through the crowd, the other bodies turning when they saw her coming to more easily let her through. When she was close enough the man in front of her moved out of the way as the crowd moved back to give the dark haired woman some room. She gave Stiles a soft smile and lifted her hand, and just like that Stiles ducked into herself, her arm going over her head to protect herself as she waited for the impact from the woman's hand, her eyes clenched shut awaiting the onslaught of pain. “Oh sweetheart.” There was a gentle hand against the elbow that was protecting her head and Stiles looked up from under her arm but didn't actually move it away. “It's okay child, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to know that your okay.” The woman watched Stiles for a moment and Stiles wasn't exactly sure that she could trust her but after a few moments with no pain she slowly let her arm fall back to her side before standing up straight. She didn't dare meet the woman's eye but instead kept her gaze fixed on the woman's neck, close enough to let her know that she was listening but fair enough from her gaze to not get into trouble. “My name is Talia, do you know where you are?” Stiles knew the name well enough, which meant that she knew the company as well but she didn't know where exactly they were so she shook her head softly. “Is there maybe someone we should contact?”

“No” it came out too quickly and Stiles took a risk looking into the woman's eyes, they were soft with a look in them that she had only seen in her father's eyes and it made her own well up with tears. “There's no one”

The crowd was still standing around looking at the strange girl that had somehow managed to get past everyone without them seeing “okay, that's fine” she turned her head and Stiles let her gaze fall to her shoulder. “Allison” she waited for another girl to step forward, she had curly brown hair and was in riding pants, boots and a loose top. “This is Allison, she's going to get you some clean clothes and let you clean yourself up. She'll help you get some food and then she'll bring you too my office when you're done.” Talia looked to Allison as if to ask if that was okay and the girl gave a nod of understanding before the older woman turned back to Stiles “your safe here. No one will hurt you.”

Stiles had heard that before and it had turned out to be a lie so now whenever she heard it she never actually believed it but she followed the girl out of the tent not really seeing another option but before they could get too far there was a deep voice that followed them “I dont think this is a good idea mom.” 

“Hush Derek” Stiles didn't bother turning around to see who it was that didn't want her there because they all probably didn't want her there and she knew that even if she was allowed to stay she would find out real quick who that person was.

The dark haired girl pointed to the train, once they were outside, it sat behind everything waiting to be loaded and set in the direction of its next stop. “My sleepers just this way” Stiles gave a short nod “are you okay?” There was really no need to answer, not that she hadn't been asked that same question twice already but it didn't matter, none of them really cared so once again Stiles just ignore the question. “It's just that your bleeding.”

Stiles looked down to where the girl was pointing and sure enough there was a tear in her dress, the edges covered in dried blood “its old”.

She hummed and grabbed one of the railings to pull herself up onto train, Stiles went to do the same but hissed before she could reach the metal because apparently one of Stiles ribs were still broken. Instead of making a big deal about it, as that generally just brought her more trouble, she reached up with the other hand to pull herself up. Only when she got on the step Allison was looking down at her with concern in her eyes but she turned and went into the train car with Stiles following behind. The other girl started rummaging through some drawers while Stiles took in her room. It was pretty big for a train car, there was a bed in one corner, shelves with a brace across the front so her things wouldn't fall as the train moved, there was a dresser and a few extra drawers built into the shelves and there was color everywhere. Teals, reds, oranges, purples, there were scarves hanging near a vanity that had lights and a small chair, it was more than she ever got. Allison turned around when she finally found what she was looking for, there was a muted plain teal dress in her hands “I hope you don't mind a dress if you do I can find you some riding pants.”

“I don't mind” she took the dress that Allison held out and started to undress not used to getting any privacy.

“Oh” Stiles looked up at the other girl after pulling her dress over her head, she was looking at Stiles stomach with a concerned look on her face before “I'm going to go get Melissa” she went to meet Stiles gaze but she turned her own gaze to the ratty dress in her hand. “Just stay here please, there's some water in the basin just over there your more than welcome to us it to clean yourself up.” She didn't wait for Stiles to say anything but instead ran out of her own room without so much as a glance back. Apparently she wasn't too concerned with leaving Stiles alone in there, she looked down at what Allison had been looking at and noticed the hug bruise that covered her ribs on the left, well that wasn't good but it also showed why she couldn't lift her arm above her head. There was also an unhealed wound on the right side where the tear in her dress had been it was still bleeding a little bit but not like it had just happened, maybe it wasn't as old as Stiles had thought. Moving over to the basin that Allison had pointed to, she splashed some water onto her face and cleaned it off with the inside of her old ratty dress, she dipped it into the water and wiped at the dried blood as well along with some of the darker dirt stains on her arms and legs. It was probably the closest thing to a bath she had had in a long time, so she also made sure to get under her arms and all her essential areas as well.

Stiles didn't bother putting on the clean dress since Allison went to go grab someone else, instead once she was done washing herself down a bit she resorted to just standing there. It wasn't too hot in the sleeper which Stiles thought was a little weird seeing as how it was the middle of summer and she was in a metal train but she didn't think too much on it, instead just letting her brain wander while she took in the rest of the room. There was a clatter outside and a soft “okay Allison just relax.” 

There was a soft knock on the door and Stiles didn't bother answering, these days not really saying much of anything if she didn't have to. Which she didn't have to in this case as the woman took the silence to mean that she should just come in. She was a bit tanner than Allison and her dark curly hair was tied at the nape of her neck and she had the same soft features as the boy from the platform. “Hey sweetheart, my names Melissa. Allison came to get me because she saw something concerning” she must have noticed the bruise because she moved in a bit more and dropped the bag onto the ground at Stiles feet holding out her hands in a sort of surrendering motion as if to show Stiles that she wasn't going to hurt her. Before she did anything she looked up at Stiles, Stiles didn't met her gaze but looked at the clean dress still in your hand “may I?” Stiles simply gave a shrug of her shoulders before the woman started to feel around her bruise. “May I ask your name?”

She didn't know what her name and her bruise had in common but she also didn't want to give her real name so they could trace it back to her past “Stiles” it was a family name and one that only her father had used when they were alone. The woman pressed against her rib and Stiles hissed from the pain pulling back from the woman.

“Its broken, but it also looks a few days old” Stiles hummed in response as it was at least two, she wasn't even quite sure how it even happened or even what day it was. The woman went to were the scratch was poking around the area “this I'm going to cover though, just so it doesn't get infected okay?” She looked past the woman at the bookcase falling back into her own mind as the older woman tapped her back together if only she could do that to her life as well. When she was done she helped Stiles put the clean dress on so she didn't pull on her ribs even more before calling Allison back in to take Stiles to get some food.

They walked out of the train and past a few smaller tents Allison pointing out people as they went by. “That's Boyd, he’s our strong man and also spits flames with some of the other boys” she pointed to the dark skinned man that had been at the bottom of the stairs as she had climbed down the same one that seemed to want to protect her from the crowd which she had been grateful for. He was standing with a curly haired blonde girl next to him deep in conversation, she had a smile on her face as the spoke but Stiles could see that she was not a girl to mess with. Not that Stiles ever would. “Next to him is Erica, she's a contortionist and one of our hoopers.” When Allison said her name Erica and Boyds head turned to look at them, Stiles immediately turned her gaze to the ground and continued to follow Allison who was still talking. “I do archery with Scott, the boy that was on the platform with you, he also does fire breathing.” They went over to the grub tent and Allison made Stiles a tray before picking out an empty table, she didn't get seem to get anything for herself as she pushed the full tray closer to Stiles. Stiles really tried hard to not eat fast but the minute that she had seen food her stomach had started to growl from lack of food for at least two days. Allison went on pointing out people as if to ignore Stiles growling tummy “that's Liam, Mason and Corey, they do motorcycle tricks, it gets crazy intense but they are super amazing.” She pointed to a table where a strawberry blond girl sat picking at her plate with her fork an annoyed look on her face like she was going to murder someone as she listened to a blond haired boy talk. An equally bored tan guy was sitting next to him nodding ever so often “and over there is Jackson he's our lizard man, the dark haired one is Danny, he’s our rigger he makes sure that all the ropes and such can hold our weight amd does the calculations if we want to try something knew and he always checks our equipment first to make sure we don't get hurt. Next to him is Lydia, she's our psychic, she can be a bit intimidating at first but once she's on your side she'll defend you for life.” The one confused Stiles the most, seeing as how there was nothing about Jackson that said lizard anything, if anything he looked like a pretty boy, not used to anything being dirty let alone touching anything that was scaly and reptilian like. Not really wanting to start anything, let alone a conversation about someone she didn't plan on being around, she continued eating while Allison continued to talk. When she was finished Allison took her over to another one of the other train cars pointing at the door “just head on in, she has a door to her office that you can knock on.”

Stiles was maybe a little bit terrified about going in there by herself but there was no where else to go so she took a deep breath, sending a sharp pain through her lungs, before she mounted the stairs. There was a small hall that led her straight before a right turn and she could hear an argument from the other side of the door that Allison had mentioned. 

“I just don't think its a good idea to bring her in here, she could be a murderer, or a runaway.”

There was an annoyed huff “we’re all runaways Derek” it was Talia “and she flinched when I moved my hand, I think if she was a murderer she wouldn't be so terrified someone was going to hurt her.”

“I still don't think its a good idea” that was the same voice that was in the tent from earlier.

“Then it's a good thing I wasn't asking you,” the voice sounded like the annoyed mother she apparently was, Stiles moved forward to knock on the door before she got in trouble for eavesdropping as well “come in”.

She opened the door to see a tall man standing in front of Talia's desk, he was in a pair of aerialists pants, form fitting as to not get in the way and they also left nothing to the imagination, not that Stiles was looking or anything, she also wasn't looked at the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. When he say her he moved towards her and Stiles body reacted faster than she was able to control, bringing both of her arms above her head and dropping down into the fetal position on the floor. Once again her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the man to strike her.

“God dammit Derek” there was more shuffling so Stiles just stayed there not wanting to make herself vulnerable to anything. When there was a soft hand against her back she nearly jumped out of her skin “Its okay Stiles, my son is a brute but he won't hurt you.” She looked up from between her knees and Talia smiled sweetly “won't you come take a seat in my office.” With Derek gone she slowly stood up with the help from Talias outstretched hand, once she was standing she led the younger woman over to one of the chairs before taking her seat where another man stood just to the left. He had dark hair like Dereks and a soft smile that reached his eyes, he had a deep tan and stood with his hands behind his back and his legs shoulder distance apart and was wearing cotton dress pants with a striped button down shirt and suspenders. “This is my husband, Gavin, he does the books for us, he also helps me make all the big decisions for the show and is the backup ring leader when I can't do it.” Stiles didn't need to look up to know that Gavin was where Derek got all his muscle from because under his nice clothes Stiles could see the muscles in his arms and the way he puffed out his chest, Talia smiled “I was wondering if I could maybe ask you a few question?” Stiles gave a slight nod “Melissa told me that you have a broken rib, is that from the tightrope?” Well that was how she had found out her name and while Stiles didn't know where it had come from she did know that it wasn't from the tightrope so she shook her head in response. “You seemed pretty comfortable up there, are you familiar with the tightrope?” of course she was, it was the reason why she got beat the most, well that and her mouth but she really didn't want to get into that either so she just gave a simple nod instead. “Is there anything else you can do?” 

Stiles took a deep breath her voice low and raspy, a voice that even Stiles didn't recognize “I'm an aerialist, I can do just about everything. Trapeze, single and flying, hoops, silks, ropes, tightrope, if it's in the air I can do it.” It wasn't that she was bragging or even trying to sell herself she was just being honest, her whole life had been spent learning and doing and there was no room for anything else. If it hadn't been for her father she would have never gotten any schooling but her father had stepped in and insisted that if she was to perform she was to be educated while doing it.

There was a smile that Stiles watched spread across Talias face “its safe to say that this is not your first circus?”

“No ma'am”

“Well” she placed her hands on her desk looking at a few papers “if you would like to stay with us the offer is there, you would get paid a flat rate and then two percent of the gate, there's a chance that it could go up depending on how much attention you attract. I would prefer that you wait tell you are completely healed before you do try anything though as we dont want your injury to cause you permanently damage. You would share a car with a few of the other girls but you would still get your own room to do with what you like.” Stiles had never been paid for anything, she had also never had her own room before she had shared one with five other girls which meant she had never had any privacy either. What Stiles didn't want was to get used to the perks and then have to go back, she never wanted to go back but on the other hand what if she never had to. What if she could stay quiet and still perform, what if she could change her name and appearance so that nobody would ever think it was her.

She cleared her throat “if I stay, can I dress however I want, and use a different name?”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with the act, we can't have safety concerns.” Stiles nodded because of course she wasn't going to put her own life in danger over a disguise. “Are you running from something, the law perhaps or your parents?”

Her voice was watery when she spoke “my parents are dead and I have broken no laws.” She took a deep breath because maybe just maybe if she told the truth they may be willing to help her, she didn't need to tell them everything but just enough. They seemed like nice enough people… well except that Derek fellow but she could easily avoid one man, hell she could easily avoid everyone if need be, she had done it before. “It's true I am hiding but it's for my own safety.”

Talia came around the desk and placed her hand on her shoulder ever so lightly kneeling down in front of her “you will be safe here, we will protect you from whoever you are running from because no one should live in fear.” Easy for her to say she worked in her own circus with her own cushy office surrounded by family. “Stiles” she turned her head but wouldn't make eye contact so Talia leaned forward a hand resting against her knee very purposely looking her in the eye, they were soft and filled with concern and they had been the first set of eyes that she had seen since she was six and they reminded her so much of her mother that she wanted to cry. “You are safe here sweetheart, I promise you that, whatever you left behind is in the past.” Stiles took a deep breath and let it sink in because while she was still maybe a bit skeptical about it there was the tiniest bit of weight lifted off of her shoulders as she looked into those caring eyes nodding ever so slightly. The older woman gave her a sweet smile, patting Stiles hands before standing and turning to her husband who Stiles had almost forgot was in there he was so quiet “would you get Kira please?” The older man stuck his head out the door that sat behind Talias desk before holding it open enough for a sweet looking asian girl to come into the room. She had long black hair that was tied in a knot at the top of her head, her features soft but caring and she seemed to have a smile set into her features. “Kira this is Stiles, she's going to be staying with us for a while, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind showing her to her room?”

Kira's smile grew, seemingly excited that she got to help our and her eyes started to sparkle, even though it wasn't really a question she still answered “not at all.” 

Before they could leave though Talia turned back to Stiles “Melissa will make whatever costumes you need once your healed up enough to perform and then anything else you may need you can go to Peter he's our runner. Just have Kira point him out to you.” 

Stiles nodded and both of the younger girls moved to exit Talias office, they started walking back to the train before Kira started talking. “So our train car is known as orphan car, it hold Lydia, Erica, myself and now you, there's another orphan car for the boys too and then everyone else shares a car with their parents. We all have our own rooms though which is nice, the last circus I was with I shared a car with two other girls so this place is an upgrade.” Stiles didn't want to mention that sharing with two other people was a lot better than sharing with five so she simply followed along while Kira kept talking. “You’re already pretty famous around here, they say Scott found you on the tightrope, that you didn't even seem scared, you must be used to heights. I personally hate them myself but that's why I work on the ground with the animals. Horses mostly and an elephant, Malia works with the coyotes, the one lion we have and the wolves.” She stopped to breath before turning to Stiles “what do you do?”

“I'm an aerialist.”

She shrugged “that would explain why you weren't scared up on the tightrope. That's cool though, Derek, Cora and Laura do the flying trapeze, they're just over there.” Stiles looked over to where she was pointing and noticed the tall dark haired man from before and it sent a shiver down her spine because if anyone was going to hurt her here it was going to be him. Even now as he stood there his arms were crossed over his chest and he had a murderous look on his face as the shorter of the three was talking to him. She had long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, she was skinny, not like Stiles skinny but thin, she was wearing a pair of tight shorts that had the loose flowing shirt tucked into it. The taller woman was in leggings much like Derek, the shirt she wore was a long sleeve but thin and flowing and not long enough to cover her wrists which Stiles thought was to make sure that whoevers grip was going to catch her weren’t compromised by the fabric. All three gazes turned to them and she quickly looked away and continued to follow Kira who apparently hadn't stopped talking, not even noticing that Stiles hadn't been paying attention. “... they're amazingly good. Like serious top notch, you should come by tonight and watch, the show starts just after sunset.” Which Stiles didn't think was too long now, Kira pulled herself up onto one of the cars and Stiles made sure that she memorized where it was before following her into the train. They came into a long hall four doors in total spanning the length, Kira pointed to the last one on the right before opening it “this is going to be you.” They stepped in and inside was a bed, a small dresser and a vanity with lights all the way around it, and that was it. There was a lot of room to move around and could probably hold a handful of people before becoming too uncomfortable. Stiles thought that it was bigger than the room that she shared at the last place “welcome to the company and if you need anything I'm just across the hall. I have to start getting ready but do you think you'll be okay?” She gave the woman a small nod before Kira smiled “good, maybe I'll see you at the show later.” She left Stiles and bounced across the hall and Stiles was left once more on her own.

Stiles closed the door and turned back to the bed where there was a decent sized window. Going over to it, she opening it to let in some fresh air and looked outside. There were a bunch of people walking around, some already in costume, some halfway, some just walking around in street clothes and Stiles thought as she looked out that they all actually looked happy which was weird for her because nobody ever smiled before unless they were performing. It was definitely going to be different here that was for sure. She sat back on the bed and before she knew it she was falling asleep, there were dreams of walking through forests, of running and being chased, of seeing her father's dead body the gash to his stomach bleeding out and his skin so pale. Snapping awake, she could feel that the pillow that she was under her was wet. Not wanting to go back to sleep she looked out the open window to see that it was dark, except for the red and white circus tent that was all lit up, she could hear the crowd cheering from her bed so she moved to get off and leave the train car. 

When she got to the tent she was able to find a spot in the back to stand out of sight but where she was able to see everything. Kira and Malia were in the middle of their act, Kira sitting on the back of a horse in a red sequin leotard that had a slit down to her belly and the sides exposed, at her hip there were long flowing feathers that fell down to her knees with red split sole ballet shoes. She laid sideways along its back perfectly balanced with both hands above her head as she circled as the horse circled Malia who was in a matching outfit but in a deep blue with a coyote on one of the small pull out platforms, they pranced them around showing off their skills, pulling a few tricks before taking them all back stage. The next ones to come out were the motorcycles, going back and forth to do tricks at first then slowly getting more brave the longer they were out until all three of them were on one motorcycle stacked up like cups. After them came Derek, Cora and Laura, Derek in bright blue tight pants with sequin flames while the girls wore matching bright blue leotards that had sequin flowers over the chest and around the waist where the tassels started handing down to mid thigh. Kira had been right though they were amazing, flying through the air like it was walking for them, natural unhindered by the fear of being dropped. There were flips and catches and Stiles noticed that the small female was the one that spent the most time in the air. Next came Allison and Scott, then the strong man before everyone came out for one last big performance, the girls with hula hoops on fire, the boys spitting flames into the air while the aerialists flipped through the air and the animals circled the floor with Talia standing in the middle with her deep red jacket, top hat and hands in the air as the crowd cheered. 

Stiles realized that she had caught the last part of the show and walked back to her room in hopes of getting more sleep. Once she got there she opened the drawers in hopes to find anything to sleep in and was pleasantly surprised when she found a white nightgown in the top drawer. As she pulled it over her head and let the soft, thin fabric fall around her body her door was slammed opened to show Derek still in his show outfit the sequins catching the light and sparkling. Taking a step back, when he continued to move forward she moved until her back was against the wall and he was mere inches from her body.

His dark eyes seethed with anger for her “you will not talk to my family or anyone else here, you will not listen to conversations that are not your own or even look at anyone that belongs to this company. You will keep to yourself and despite what my mother may have told you you will get off this train at the next town and never look back. You will also not attend anymore shows because believe you me I will know you were there, I will be able to see you.”

Stiles didn't know what gave her the courage to look him in the eye or even talk but there was something there as she squinted up at him “how do you see anything when your flying back and forth?”

There was a growl that came from deep in his chest “are you sassing me? Because I would strongly advise you to not do that.”

She lifted an eyebrow in curiosity “sass or ask questions?” When the deep growl came rumbling back she just shrugged and looked him in the eye challenging him to do something “what, what do you think you could possibly do to me that I haven't already had to endure, huh? You gonna choke me out, kick me to the ground, take a boot to my stomach because I hate to have to tell but I've been through it all.” His eyes searched her face, the look of shear murder on his own, she leaned forward so that they were mere inches apart. “You gonna kill me? go right ahead, I have nothing more to lose. Do it, do something because I've known men like you and you won't stop until it's done.”

Before he could answer there was someone that was pulling him back as Lydia came to stand between them, Stiles had been right early when she said that she had looked scary simply listening while she ate but now, now she looked terrifying as she glared up at Derek with Allison and Talia standing behind him. Talia put her hands on her waist as she looked down at her son “what the fuck do you think your doing in here Derek? You don't think she's suffered enough you have to come in here and what? Show your dominance?” Derek, though he was a few years older than Stiles, was trying to keep himself unaffected by his mother's wrath but everyone in the room knew who was going to come out on top. “Here's what's going to happen Derek, when Stiles is better you and her will be partners and you will not perform again until then.” Stiles eyes got wide as she was thrown into a partnership that neither of them wanted but it wasn't exactly like she could say no. “If you decide that this is not an option for you, you will never perform with us again and you will be forced to leave because this” she waved her hand in front of him “is not the the son I raised, I raised a kind, gentle son who protects the ones he loves without threatening someone who has already been put through the ringer. Do I make myself perfectly clear.” 

When Derek didn't answer she took a step closer to him and at first Stiles thought she was seeing things because she could have sworn she say Talia's eyes flash red before Derek nodded “yes”.

Her shoulders relaxed and she took a step back “good and if I see you harassing Stiles one more time I will bring a mother's wrath upon you like you have never seen is that understood.”

This time Derek didn't hesitate even though his back was straight and his chin still up in defiance “yes”

“Go help do something that's not in here” he didn't have to be told twice running out of there and not giving any of them a second glance. Lydia moved out from in front of Stiles but didn't leave the room, sticking close to Stiles side while Allison came over to flank her oppositek side, wrapping an arm around Stiles, she wasn't a hundred percent sure about the unfamiliar contact but they had basically stepped in for her without asking and for Stiles that was a first. Talia took a deep breath before sharply turning to Stiles with an apologetic smile on her face “I'm so sorry Stiles, I told you I would protect you and here is my son causing conflict.” She took a step towards her “are you okay?”

Stiles gave a small nod because no matter what happened here it probably wouldn't be nearly as bad as the last place “yes ma'am”

“Good, that's good” she looked back towards the door before turning back to Stiles “and please call me Talia sweetheart, we’re all family here.” Stiles gave another nod and Talia flashed another smile “alright well I'm gonna go so you can get some rest but if anything happens like that again don't be afraid to come to me no matter what they say okay?” She nodded her head and Talia smiled at the other girls before turning to leaving. 

Lydia was the first to turn to her “don't mind Derek he's always been an ass, he won't bother you now but if you need anything just knock on the wall.” She left too with a flick of her strawberry blonde hair, which just left Stiles and Allison who was still clinging to her arm.

She turned her sweet brown eyes to Stiles “are you sure your okay, if you want I can stay in here with you, or you can stay with me, we do it all the time and the beds are more than big enough.”

Shrugging, she looked back at her bed, it would easily fit the both of them but she shook her head “no it's okay, I just want to be alone.”

Allison's gaze searched her features before she nodded “okay, if you need anything you know where I’m at.” Stiles nodded and the last person that was in her room left finally leaving her to herself.

Stiles crawled into bed, rolling onto her good side and thinking about what she had said to Derek, practically begging him to kill her because not only could she not bring herself to do it she also couldn't get her father's voice out of her head that told her that poking the bear was a bad idea. Now she got to look forward to working with a man that didn't want her here anymore than she wanted to be here, a man that was more than likely going to make her life a living hell. Since she didn't actually know when the last time she had gotten sleep without the fear of what she was going to have to endure when she woke up, she decided to close her eyes and drift off to sleep. 

She pusher her skinny legs as fast as they could take her, her feet pounding on the frozen ground and her breath coming out in white puffs of smoke. It was pitch black, no moon in sight to light her path as she looked for her father, her chest was heaving her lungs burning as the pusher her forward. Stiles looked to her left and could have sworn that she saw something following her and while was caught up in trying to see whatever it was, she tripped falling flat onto her stomach a huge rock going straight to her ribs the pain shooting through her entire system radiating from that sharp point. When she looked back to see what she had tripped over her heart dropped into her chest as a scream tore through her body, she crawled over to where her father's pale body laid on the forest floor. Screams continuously ripped through her as she found the large gash that had taken his life causing his eyes to become white with lack of oxygen. Pulling her father's head into her lap she cried every once in a while letting a blood curtailing scream out. ‘Stiles’ she looked up and through the trees but it was too dark to see anything.

“Stiles, your okay” she blinked a few times “shh Stiles your safe” Stiles opened her eyes to find that she was back in the train sleeper that was now her room, she must have been out for a while because the train was rocking back and forth as it moved down the tracks. She found that Scott was laying on the bed in front of her his eyes closed but his hand outstretched between them. There was another body spooning her, a hand rubbing at her arm. “Your okay” it was Allison and Stiles was actually a bit relieved. While she hated everything else about the last place she was at, the one good thing about sharing a sleeper with five other people was that when she had a nightmare there was always someone that would hold her and because they were all going through the same thing, they all understood and she wasn't the only one getting nightmares. Now, though, she was a bit embarrassed that she had been screaming in her sleep again, however she wasn't embarrassed enough to not turn around and duck her head under Allison's chin burrowing a little closer. Allison didn't seem to mind too much as she wrapped her arms around Stiles shoulders keeping her safe, even Scott moved closer in behind her, wrapping his arm around the two girls and while normally that should have made other girls uncomfortable but there was something about the curly headed dopey boy that Stiles knew would protect her to the end of the world. It didn't take Stiles long to fall back asleep once more wrapped in the warmth of two of the nicest people she had met in a long time, not that she had met a lot of people before stumbling into the Hale Family Circus but hey no one knew that but her.


	2. A Plea for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finds herself in a position where she needs Derek's help but will he help the woman that is keeping him from preforming?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are so many triggers please be advised, there is talk of abuse, child, physical, mental, sexual and emotional so please keep that in mind before reading this. There is also talk of suicide, no way outs and depression... please please be advised before reading.

Stiles spent the next three days trying to just keep to herself and it wasn't just because Derek had threatened her she just found that if she was by herself she didn't get into nearly as much trouble then if she just stayed alone. Of course, because she was the shiny new penny to the company and just because she wanted to be by herself didn't mean that everyone else was going to let her. For instance when she went to eat her meals she found the farthest table from where everyone else was sitting and sat at the very end of the bench so that if someone did have to sit next to her it would only have to be on one side. This theory didn't work out to well because once she got comfortable at the empty table it would slowly fill up, first with Scott and Allison who, don't get Stiles wrong she liked the two, she liked them even more because they hadn't left her alone with her nightmares, but they always found her no matter where she was and they would always be the first to sit down. Next would come Kira, Malia and Isaac, followed shortly by Lydia, Jackson and Danny, which surprised Stiles to her core cause Jackson always looked like he was being electrocuted sitting so close to Stiles, and last would be Erica and Boyd. With Erica and Boyd she almost wondered if they had previously been in a company that beat them as well because they were always slow to join and more often than not only joined in the conversation about as much as Stiles did. Stiles didn't ask though, hell she didn't even talk because of being broken down for it so many times previously, instead she just sat there and listened to them all while she pretend that maybe just maybe this could be her life. 

She had been fine trying to just stick to the shadows but even in those three days she learned they had other plans with her that, at one point, involved dragged her into town to get new clothes. It wasn't that she had asked or even resisted when they pulled her along, nor did she really start participating even when they got into the shops but she went along glad to listen to girls talk about their love lives and what outfits they were going to wear because it meant that for once she could imagine she was normal. Stiles didn't know what it was like growing up in a normal family with lots of siblings but she supposed it looked something like this. They made her try things on and even picked out clothes for her, nightgowns, skirts, shirts, shoes, a toothbrush and hairbrush and anything that at any point in her journey that she may need they picked out for her. After carrying the bags out to the car where Peter was waiting impatiently for them they went over to the ice cream where they got ice cream and promptly started getting harassed by a few of the town folk. It got so bad that Peter had to get out and carrel the girls back to the car while also having to defend them, the day had been going so well, even Stiles had started to enjoy it and it was as a ruined by a few naive men.

When they got back to the rest of the company Peter had to go and tell Talia about what had happened while they had been in town which got them all band from going out with as many chaperones as there were woman which ultimately meant they lost their freedoms. To Stiles it really didn't mean much since she never really had hers to begin with but she did see how it affected the other girls and she went to bed trying to figure out what she was going to do in order to get that one little ounce of freedom they had back.

Coming back to consciousness the next morning, it was to someone poking at her ribs where they had previously been broken, Stiles knew that they weren't broken any longer but she didn't want someone else knowing that so she flew up and grabbed the wrist of the person poking around sitting up in the process. When her eyes were finally able to adjust to the light coming in through the window she looked up to see that it was Melissa, her eyes wide as she looked down at her. “You've healed” she looked back down at where she had moved Stiles shirt to look at where the bruise was and Stiles shook her head, Melissa's wrist still in her hand while the other one came up in surrender. “Its okay, I won't tell anyone, except Talia but only because it's her circus.” Stiles just stared up at her confused, her brain wasn't quite up to full speed, still sleepy without her usual morning coffee, but what she was really confused about was as to why she would even try to keep her secret now but she wasn't going to ask. “May I ask what you are, a werewolf?” She shook her head, figuring she knew from all the ones that were here, Stiles wasn't stupid she knew there were other supernaturals, hell the whole world new but even though they had been outed a lot of them kept that information om the down low as there were still people out there trying to kill them and because of what she was she could differentiate the smells between the different ‘weres. “A werecoyote? We have one of those too.” 

She wasn't sure because she had never actually gotten close enough but she thought that it might have been Malia that was the werecoyote but again she wasn't all that curious to ask, not to mention it was still considered rude to just randomly meet someone and ask that sort of thing so instead she just shook her head and before the older woman could ask again she just answered. “I’m a werefox.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she shook her head “I haven't heard of a werefox.”

Tilting her head she thought that that had been pretty obvious what with her life's work “it's rare, like circus rare.”

Melissa watched her for a second the debate on whether to laugh going on behind her eyes, Stiles lifted an eyebrow as if to allow her to laugh and the older woman smiled “fair enough.” Stiles finally let her wrist go and and brought her arm back to lean against it, Melissa's smile faded slightly as she held out her hand as if to ask if it was okay to sit. Moving closer to the wall to give her some room to sit down, she nodded and sat down bringing her hands into her lap thinking for a moment before placing her hand against Stiles shin that was covered by the blanket and looked up at her. “Talia and I wanted you to know that no matter what happened before you got here you will always be welcome and even if you choose not to stay with us you will always have people to back you up in any situation.” Not really seeing where this was going, Stiles stayed quiet watching Melissa struggle to get whatever it was out. It was a thoughtful gesture, Stiles knew that for sure, one that she didn't maybe believe right off the bat but she thought it was sweet. Melissa took another deep breath and continued “Talia thought, and myself included, that you may be a bit more inclined to answer a few more… personal questions if you spoke to me.” Her hand tightened on her shin, not in a painful way just in a way to get her attention and indicate what she was about to say was important. “There's no judgement here, we won't make you leave we just need to know for your safety in case we need to protect you we know how.” Whatever it was that she was trying to get across was long winded and Stiles just wished she would get it out already and she didn't have to wait long before Melissa just blurted it out. “Are you pregnant sweetheart?”

As interesting as all that seemed Stiles shook her head “no, from a young age we get a procedure done that makes us sterile, they can't afford to have any accidents or have their star performers out.” Melissa's face fell even further and from the uncomfortable expression it had been in before to terror which she quickly hid as Stiles went on moving the pillows up so she could lean back against the wall. “Before you ask I left when my father died, he kept me safe enough but with him gone I had no one to keep from being traded off.”

There was confusion and fear written on Melissa's face as Stiles spoke so nonchalantly about her past “what do you mean traded off?”

This was going to be a long explanation but one that Stiles knew she was going to have to give so she buried her feelings on the subject becoming numb to the scenario and explained what used to happen. “The last company I was with used us as entertainers, and not just the circus kind, after the shows we were sold off to those that were willing to pay enough for… private shows. Some would even be sold off completely, leaving the company for good or some would leave for weeks or months at a time before coming back worse for the wear. With my father alive he kept me from being sold off for weeks at a time but I still had nightly shifts, if we didn't… perform then we would be beaten and left without food. My father protected me with what little information he was provided with.”

Melissa looked even more horrified and this time she didn't even bother hiding it “so your father just let it happen?”

She shook her head, a pain in her chest at the memory of her father “my father didn't know a lot of what was going on, you see when I was young the owners were a different or at least they didn't outwardly do what they do now. My mother was actually the reason we were with the company and because she was married to my father they didn't treat her the same, or at least we didn't know they did. She ended up killing herself and as I grew older I learned the real reason why. You see after she died I was beaten on a pretty regular basis for… well for just about anything. Talking, resistance, lack of follow through, messing up, falling, standing there. They never did it in front of my father but it always came around, they knew better than to hurt me in front of him. They were afraid he might do something drastic so they beat me within a few inches of life and told me if I ever whispered a word of what was going on it wouldn't be my life but his. I had to find out just how serious they were and now he's dead, so I would say they live up to their threats.” Melissa was silent, watching Stiles face and she could tell that Stiles wasn't all there, like the emotional part was packed up in a tiny box and shoved somewhere for safe keeping. “They'll find me” Melissa was jerked back from her thoughts and was just about to ask when Stiles went on “I appreciate the thought and space that you and Mrs. Hale are giving me but they will find me and bring me back and all of this will be a dream I once had of being free but I'm glad I got to see what it was like on the other side, in a different company that takes care of their performers, it's nice and I wish I could stay.”

There were tears welling up in Melissa's eyes as she listened to this young girl talk like there was no other options, like she wasn't going to make it for that much longer. “You can stay Stiles, for as long as you like, you don't ever have to go back.” Her voice was watery and cracked a few times but she swallowed the lump that was in her throat and pushed back the tears in hopes that she could convince her to stay.

The shell of the young woman in front of her shook her head “I won't go back, if they find me they'll kill me and take my body back as an example to the other girls of what happens when you try to escape and I won't let them take me alive.”

This young girl, this sweet, quiet, scared young girl that couldn't be any older than her own son was speaking as if her life was worth nothing, like she had been planning this for sometime now and maybe she had. It sounded awful this place she had come from and she couldn't imagine what it was like to have to live that way. Sure she could be lying to get attention but by the vacant look in her eye, they way she was able to so easily push a part of her down and keep moving forward, the way she flinched at any sort of too quick movement proved that she wasn't and that cut Melissa down to the bone that such a beautiful young woman that had to suffer so much to just barely live would think that suicide would be better than going back. Melissa had to push down the tears that were trying to make their way down her cheeks as she rubbed the blanket that was over Stiles shin “you will never have to go back I promise, we will keep you safe I swear to you.” Stiles wanted to believe her, wanted to believe that her past was really in the past but 18 years of being treated the same way had her believing otherwise no matter how much she wanted to stay here so she gave a small nod to just acknowledge what the woman said even though she knew differently. The older woman nodded, even though she didn't think Stiles believed in what she said and stood up “I'm going to let Talia know that your all healed, I won't tell anyone else so if you'd like you can take as much time as you need to get adjusted.” Again Stiles gave her nod of acknowledgment and Melissa stood there watching her for a second before taking her leave so Stiles could be left alone with her own thoughts.

Only Stiles hated being alone with her own thoughts seeing as how most of them were corrupted by images from her former company so instead she got up and got dressed in a flowing broom skirt with tight training pants underneath to keep her warm or in case she got a chance to do a little practicing. She grabbed a thin light purple peasant top that she put on as well before heading out of her room and to the food tent. The only problem with her plan though was that as she looked over the grounds, in the distance talking to Gavin was Ennis, her heart stopped in her chest and she started to panic. Needed somewhere to hide and needing it fast she looked around for somewhere to hide landing on something just to her left. It was the train, with a set of sleeper cars closest to her, she didn't know whose they were since her own was too far away by now but she needed to hide so at the same time she didn't care. At least if she was in someone else's sleeper her scent would or could potentially be masked. Before Ennis could find her she ran to the closest sleeper picking her skirts up so that she didn't trip over them and practically jumped over the steps to get into the train car. Once she was in the car she took the first door to the right, closing it with a louder bang than she intended falling against it as if her slight body could keep Ennis's massive one out.

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” 

Stiles looked over to the bed to see Derek lifted up onto his elbow, his body turned to look at her and that panic from before was in full force as his angry gaze bore into her, her breath coming out in short fast bursts and her eyes started watering. Her voice wasn't working as she realized that out of all the people from this company that would help hide her, the only one that wouldn't was the one that she had ended up with. It was in that moment as she glanced out the window that she noticed Ennis making his way to where she had been just previously standing his nose in the air. “They're here, they found me” her own voice unrecognizable to her ears as the panic interlaced into her nerves and cracked her voice and it only became worse as her fingers were becoming numb as she looked for anything sharp to end her life here just so she wouldn't have to go back. There was a steel throwing knife resting on his dresser that she took in her hands, looking back to the window she knew the moment that Ennis picked up her scent and it caused those tears to stream down faster as she held the knife straight up in her hands taking deep breaths to psych herself up to drive it straight into her chest. It didn't work though because Derek had jumped out of the bed and snatched it out of her hands before she could even get close, his body was close to hers as she reached for the knife and he held it over his head because of course he wasn't going to let her take the easy way out “give it back. I can't go back they wont let me go back, please.”

Derek held the knife out of her reach looking down at her like she was crazy for even thinking about what she was doing and maybe she was but she knew what she was going to have to deal with if they caught her. “What do you think your gonna do, kill yourself?”

She looked him dead in the eye pleading with the man that had threatened to kill her a few days before and with every last bit of strength left inside of her she said “yes” with so much conviction that Derek knew that she was serious. 

He set the knife on a shelf that was too high for her to reach, which caused Stiles to maybe curse under her breath, before going over to the dresser turning his back on her “get undressed.”

Through the tears still falling down her cheeks she tried to keep track of his blurry form while wondering what plan he had going “what?”

There was something that he grabbed out of the dresser before turning to her “get undressed, I won't let you kill yourself and if that means that I have to keep you from whoever your afraid of then I will, now get undressed.” 

His back was once more turned on her as he went to close the blinds to his window and she was able to catch one last glimpse of Ennis who had caught her sent and was now looking around to see if he could follow it. “You just wanted to kill me two days ago and now you want to save me I don't get it.” 

“It was four days ago now hurry up or it's going to take longer to get rid of your scent.” She did as she was told though and got undressed and when he turned back around to her naked form he quickly turned back with a soft “Jesus Christ.” He held out what he had grabbed from the dresser without ever turning around and Stiles took it from his grasp to see that it was one of his long sleeve shirts, she could smell his scent that was embedded into the fabric even though he had washed it since. “I thought you were a threat to my family, I was put in my place…”

“And just like that your going to help me?” Stiles put the over sized shirt on and it, and he, was so much bigger than her that the bottom hem went to the middle of her thigh covering everything up. “I'm covered” he seemed to hesitate for a moment as if to giver that extra second before turning around and grabbing the clothes she had been wearing off the ground. He walked over to the deep hamper with what looked like his dirty clothes and shoved them all the way to the bottom before coming to stand in front of her again.

His chest was at her eye level and if it wasn't for the small room she would think the he was trying to puff his chest out at her. “My mother likes you, I don't trust you but if she wants to keep you safe then it's my duty as her son and one of her strongest performers to do so. Now get in the bed.”

Watching him, trying to figure out his plan, it was all so confusing, was he just trying to use her, was he going to turn around and take advantage of her, hell it's not like she could fight him and they were in his room to begin with so it would be easy. She moved slowly to get in the bed hoping with all her might that maybe he was one of the good ones and this was just another step to a very elaborate plan that was going to get her out of this one scenario “are you going to explain what your plan is?”

He nodded following her over “yes, but I would prefer to do so when I know whoever it is isn't going to barge in in the middle of it.” Throwing his hand towards the bed his eyes glazed over her “get in the bed and face the wall” she did as he said, her back towards the door as she faced the wall. Stiles didn't like when people were behind her, she hated not being able to see what was coming up behind her and she figured that a big part of it was when they beat her it was always while she was strapped to a wall with her face pressed into the hardwood. He got in behind her with his body so close to hers that she could feel the warmth coming off of him, it helped that the only thing he was wearing were a pair of boxer briefs but Stiles was so used to being sold off the lack of clothing wasn't what was making her feel uncomfortable. Being found out was. “I know this is gonna seem uncomfortable but I need you to relax.” Taking a deep breath she tried to make her heart beat slower but as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, it just made it pick back up, of course the fact that his boner was pressed into her back didn't exactly help either but it wasn't that Stiles didn't understand the reaction he was a man and she obviously didn't know when the last time that he had been laid was. His warm breath brushed against Stiles neck causing her to shiver in his grasp forcing her eyes shut against the over stimulation. “The room smells like your anxiety, there's something I can try but its gonna hurt.”

Stiles had been through enough to have a high tolerance for pain, not to mention she was more concerned about keeping her smell covered so anything he did was nothing she hadn't already felt and something that could potentially mask her scent “do it”

There was hesitation from him before he was moving her hair away from her neck, tugging the collar of her shirt away enough to expose the junction of where her neck met with her shoulder, Stiles waited not sure what he was going to do as he seemed to just freeze. “My mother is going to kill me.” She didn't have time to react before his teeth were sinking into her skin where a normal mate mark would be. Her head flew back to rest against his shoulder as her eyes squeezed shut and her back arched against him, his arm keeping her against him the best that he could while his teeth were still attached. Stiles body responded to the implication that came with a mark, she became wet and ready as her skin became over sensitized in the places that his skin touched hers, it felt like it was on fire and the fox in her felt such a need to have him inside her that Stiles let out a strangled whimper that matched her foxes. She stiffened under him as she suppressed the feelings that were running through her and instead tried to will her body to relax through the pain. Her body jerked towards his and he held her close with the arm around her waist and she could feel the way that the marking had affected him as well as he let her feel the pain of his bite and she had to clench her jaw tight to not let out the initial groan that wanted to escape. 

Mate marks, like the one that Derek had just given, weren’t permanent but was a way to stimulate desire in the other person, it would stay for a few hours but by the next morning Stiles knew that it would be gone and her skin would be the perfect unblemished pale skin that everyone loved about her and she knew this from previous experience. The only way that a mate mark would stay was if the two that were involved were actually mates, then it would stay as a way to prove that the person was bonded to another. He had been right though because the minute that his canines broke skin the room no longer smelled of anxiety but of pain, desire, need and want, it would actually take a fine tuned werewolf nose to pick out her scent now and Ennis wasn't that good.

Derek licked up the few drops of blood before resting his forehead against the back of her neck as he leeched what pain was left from her “sorry” the way his voice sounded it was almost like he was pained by the fact he had caused pain. It was in that moment that Stiles realized that when he had threatened her yesterday it was just that, a threat, and one that he wasn't going to be able to hold up even if he wanted to. She wanted to soothe him, tell him that it was going to be okay that she knew it was for a reason but it was just then that they both heard the door to the train car open. His voice dropped low enough for only her to hear him “whatever you do, don't turn around” it was soft enough that she was sure no one else had heard it even if they were ‘wolves. It was a few seconds later that his door slammed open for a second time that morning, Derek flew around the growl coming from deep in his chest “what the hell do you think your doing?” He got up off the bed and as much as Stiles wanted to turn around to see the look on Ennis’s face she knew better and decided to listen to the guy that had a plan where she did not. 

“I'm looking for someone”

“Well they aren't in here that's for sure.”

Ennis didn't sound like he was going to give in “but there is someone else in here.”

“That's my wife” it was a growl and while even Stiles could hear Derek's heartbeat she couldn't hear the skip that would normally indicate that he was lying and that was odd.

“The mark is fresh”

“We just had sex, I have a kink,” his voice was so matter of fact like he was trying to sound nonchalant about telling someone his sexual preferences. His voice stayed steady as he spoke again after a short pause “not that it's any of your business strange man making himself comfortable enough to barge into another mans room.” Stiles didn't want to admit it but she really liked Derek's sass and maybe just maybe hated him a little less for it. 

There was another door that opened down the hall a little and a deep voice came from it “is there something wrong Derek?”

“I don't know is there” there was a silence as Ennis didn't seem to want to answer and Stiles could just picture Derek with a single eyebrow raised before he spoke again “it seems like this man is looking for someone who he thinks is in my room.”

“That's odd since the only person in your room is your wife” it was the other man.

“That is what I said, now since you can't seem to get your facts or your smells right I'm going to leave and if you or anyone not from this company barges into this room again I promise they will not look the same as when they leave.” The door slammed shut and Derek came back over to lay behind her once more and while she had always thought Ennis looked intimidating she could only imagine what Derek looked like and maybe she had been wrong twice. Maybe his threat towards her hadn't been anything more than a threat but Ennis, she could see him following through with the threat directed at Ennis. His voice came as a soft whisper in her ear “we need to make sure that he gets far enough away before you can leave so just try and relax for now.” She gave a soft nod and with Derek's warm body pressed against hers and the sun warming up her feet where it came in through the windows she found herself drifting back to sleep.

When she woke up for a second time that day it was to an empty cold bed, she turned enough to see that Derek wasn't anywhere in the room but her clothes were laying out across the foot. She changed out of Derek's shirt and back into her clothes and got off of the sleeper to find that Scott was leaning against the train pushing himself off of it to walk beside her. “Hey” she looked up at him curiously, wondering as to how he had known she was in there and it was as if he could read her mind. “Derek asked me to wait for you, he asked that I explain a few things to you.” That got her attention so she stopped in her tracks and looked up at him expectantly which caused a blush to form on his cheeks as he shifted his weight back and forth on his feet. “He said that he's going talk to the other guys about always having someone with you.” His hand came to rub at the back of his neck as he looked down “and that your going to have to be scent marked on a pretty regular basis, he said you would know what that would mean.” Nodding, she turned back and started back towards the food tent since the last time she had been on her way she had been rudely interrupted, it meant that she was starving now. Scott apparently didn't realize that she had started moving again because he had to run to keep up. “Hey how do you know what that means?” Not bothering to stop this time, since her stomach was practically yelling at her, she instead just lifted an eyebrow in his direction and that blush was back “is that rude to ask? I'm sorry if it is, I'm still kinda getting used to having new people around.” They finally arrived at the food line and Stiles turned to him as they waited, there was something about standing in the open that made her a bit uncomfortable, like she was being watched and it made the skin on her neck crawl. Bringing her hand up she moved the collar of her shirt away from her neck so she could scratch at her neck being careful not to reopen the mate mark left on her skin. Scott didn't seem to notice her movement as he leaned a few inches closer so that only she could hear him “does that mean that you know about werewolves.”

She rolled her eyes at him and finally answered one of his questions “everyone knows about werewolves Scott, no ones in hiding anymore, this isn't the 20’s.” That soft blush was back to his cheeks and Stiles hoped that she didn't make him feel stupid because that hadn't been her intent and she was just about to apologize and blame the lack of food when there was a loud crash that came from behind her. 

They both flew around to see Talia standing over Derek with her hand to his throat as she pushed him back against the table that held all the food, her eyes blazing red and her voice filled with anger “I told you to leave her alone. I told you to protect her and you went and you slept with her, are you so thick headed…” 

“I didn't…” Derek was choking against her hand and his face was starting to red as he tried to get the words out, his hands coming up to tug at hers “I… I...”

Talia wasn't having it though as she continued to push him down on the table “don't you lie to me boy, I raised you better than that, I saw the mark. It's only done in one instance.”

Stiles body moved faster than her brain, shoving through the people that had stood at the loud noise ready to battle whatever had interrupted their lunch, but she didn't care she had to get to Derek. When she finally pushed through everyone and got close enough she placed herself between the two of them or at least tried. It was something that you were never supposed to do with an Alpha and she could hear everyone gasp and mutter but she had to do it she had to do something “Mrs. Hale please” she tried to pull on the woman's arm to release Derek but she wouldn't and lets face it Talia was a lot stronger than Stiles was.

Her teeth were bared as those red eyes stayed trained on her son “he took advantage of you, of your situation.”

Stiles shook her head, pleading her eyes while still tugging at her hand as she tried to keep her voice firm and strong “no, no he didn't.”

Those red eyes and elongated teeth turned to her “you reek of him.”

And while she should have and would have normally backed down in any other scenario Derek had just done something for her that no one else had ever done, so she stood taller ignoring the crowd of people around them and dropped her hand from Talias arm “he saved my life, I was ready to kill myself and he saved me, please just let me explain.”

Talia released Derek maybe a little more reluctantly than Stiles would have wanted but it freed Derek from her grasp and he fell to his hands and knees coughing and gasping for air, Stiles dropped down next to him making sure that he was okay “you better do it fast.” Her hand was resting on Derek's back the other had gone out to him which he had taken, given a light squeeze still coughing before pushing it away so she could stand ones more in front of the older woman.

Her mouth moved on its own “your husband was talking to a man earlier this morning, a man named Ennis. He worked for the company I was with previously, we called him the enforcer because if one of us girls didn't want to do something he'd be the one to beat us into submission. He was also the one that would go out and look for runaways, he didn't have the strongest of noses but he was intimidating and knew how to hide a body.” There were murmurs from the crowds that she tried to ignore them but the more she thought about it the the more anxiety and fear she felt about being found, there was a warm hand that wrapped around hers and she looked over to see Derek standing and it was his hand that was wrapped around her own, it was then that another hand came to wrap around the empty one and she looked up to see Allison. Taking a deep breath she looked back to Talia “when I saw him I panicked and ran into the first room I could find which also happened to be Derek's. I took one of his throwing knives and was about to… to kill myself when he stopped me, he put me in one of his shirts and in his bed to try and hide my scent but I had already seen Ennis and I was panicking. It was too much to hide so he bite me instead, filling the room with pain instead of anxiety, it worked because when Ennis came to the door Derek played it off. Your son not only saved my life but he also saved me from having to go back.”

The older woman looked over to her son “is that true?”

Derek gave a soft nod still holding onto Stiles and for some reason his warmth was giving her strength “yes”. It was almost instantly after Talia wrapped Derek in a tight hug and started apologizing, the loss of one hand caused her to lose Allison's as well and the intimacy between mother and son was making Stiles uncomfortable so she snuck through the crowd unnoticed and went over to the big top. 

She tossed her skirts to the side leaving her in the tight practice shorts and made her way up to the tightrope. Wanting to forget, she closed her eyes and stepped out onto the taught line, she fell back into her own mind going through the routine without paying attention to what her body was actually doing. This had become the only way that Stiles could clear her mind of the things that were causing her to overthink, it was the only way that SHE could choose what she wanted to think about and right now she was thinking about what her next steps were going to be because staying with the Hale Family Circus was looking like it was going to be impossible. She was so deep in her thoughts, so lost in her plans she didn't realize that there was anyone in there with her until someone said her name and she slipped. Her hand caught on the rope but her grip had been off just by a little bit and her hand lost its feeling, the rope skinned her palms as she started falling head first towards the ground. It was like everything went into slow motion as Derek came into her view, as her body came down he used her momentum and guided her body into a u sending her back into the air but keeping his hand around her foot. Once her weight came back down with gravity and less force she found herself in the air, one leg tucked close to her body the other outstretched keeping her balance as Derek held her in the air above him as his arm was straight up above his head holding her weight with ease. Staying perfectly still, he glanced up at her lifted his eyebrow and when she gave him a slight nod he bent his elbow and once more tossed her into the air, she spun once tucking her arms close to her body and straightening out both legs so when he caught her bridal style she didn't accidentally smack him. He gently released her legs so that she could stand before stepping back to look at her a smile on his face and a look in his eyes that she didn't like. “Your very good at improvising.” There was something that caught his eyes on his hands and he looked down before grabbing her hands. They were bloody but there weren't any scratches on them “you healed… really quickly, I was right” his head tilted to the side as his eyebrows knit together.

Stiles took her hands from his, the plan from before causing her emotions to rear up and affect her words as she moved back towards the ladder “how very observant of you.”

“Your not a wolf though, what are you?” Her hands came up to both sides of the ladder to stable herself but shook her head dropping it between her arms and clenching her eyes shut at the thought that now he wanted to be her friend “are you mad?”

She turned to look at him one hand still on the rungs anger flaring up that she tried to keep out of her tone “what do you want from me Derek? Yesterday you were all death threats and dominance and now your all ‘I'll keep you safe’ even at the risk of your own life?”

“Your mad because I saved you, because I didn't let Ennis take you?” If he wasn't confused before he was definitely confused now and it showed in those beautiful… no, no she could not get attached to this guy when she was planning on leaving. But they were, they were beautiful dark eyebrows that were pinched together in confusion. 

“For now. You saved me from Ennis for now” she moved towards him to try and comfort him but she stopped and shook her head of the attachment that she wanted to feel for him. “I never said I was mad but you need to understand that this isn’t over, this isn't going to be the last time we see someone from my old company.”

He shook his head those eyebrows still knit together “I don't understand”

“For Christ sake Derek” she took a deep breath and moved closer to him about to turn his whole world upside down because this was going to be the only way that he would understand why she couldn't stay here, why she couldn't keep putting these wonderful people in danger. “We were bought at the age of three, at six we get a fire poker jammed inside of us so that we can't conceive a child because at thirteen we get sold to the highest bidder. We spend 20 hours a day getting trained and if we mess up just once in practice we don't get fed. We are purchased every night we perform and forced to do things no sane person should be put through and if we aren't then the rest of the performers not forced to be there get to have their way with us. We are beaten into silence and if that doesn't work, like it didn't for me, you get your lips sewn shut. Literally, and then you get to be on a liquid diet that is fed through a straw between strings for two weeks. Run aways get killed and buried or worse hanged as a warning to the rest of us to not even try and I ran Derek, I ran as far as I could and they still found me and yes you managed to save me this one time but do you think people that can do all that will stop just because you threatened them.” She finally took a ragged breath as she watched the pain in his eyes and maybe for a split second she felt bad about exploding on him but he needed to know the reality of the situation. Her voice was a whisper as she hung her head “I'm sorry but they wont and you and Scott and everyone else are going to get attached and when they find me, which they will, I will not be going back, I will die first. I appreciate what you did this morning but I can't put you all through this, I can't let you all watch as I am forcibly removed because I have done it myself too many times. I wish I could stay here Derek, I wish I could be just like you and be surrounded by people that love you and cherish you and sing your praises when you do the best performance but I can't Derek, my life just isn't meant to be cushy.” Stiles wanted to stay here, wanted to take it all back and pretend that those things never happened to her but she was putting this whole company at risk, she held up her hand but once again couldn't look him in the eye “I should go, before Ennis comes back.”

Moving to exit the big top, she turned away from him but just before she could get out of arm's reach his hand came to wrap around her wrist “Stiles” she let out a deep breath but didn't turn she just couldn't see the look she knew was going to be on his face “give me a week.”

That was enough to get her attention, enough that she turned around to look into his hazel eyes “what? Why?”

He took a deep breath of his own “my mother made us work together for a reason, maybe she saw something I didn't or maybe she was just trying to teach me a lesson but the first rule of being an aerialist is that you have to trust your partner with your life. They are the ones that will hold your life in their hands, so please just give me a week, put your life, your future in my hands for just a weeks.”

She searched his face, wanted to know what he was going to get out of this, wanted to know why this man, why Derek. “If I leave, If I just disappear then your mother will let you work with your sisters again, you can go back to having your cushie performance like I was never here.”

“I don't want to go back to my sisters” he looked away from her for a second, the look on his face when he turned back heartbreaking “if you give me a week and I can't protect you, I will personally take you somewhere, where ever you want to go, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, you choose and we will go and I will sit with you when you go to… end your life. So your not alone and I promise to not stop you.” 

She hesitated for a second watching him, she knew that it practically killed him to say that and it would kill him even more to be there but he had a good point. She didn't want to do it alone, she couldn't care less about where it happened she just didn't want to do it alone so she gave a simple nod “you have a week.”


End file.
